Hope Stephanou
November 10, 1941 - September 20, 2020
Newburgh, NY
Hope Stephanou - beloved sister, aunt, great-aunt, ????, teacher, and friend - died suddenly on September 20, 2020 at the age of 78. Hope was born on November 10, 1941, the daughter of Eli and Ruth Stephanou. Hope was a lifelong resident of Newburgh. She earned a college degree from Mount Saint Mary College and a Master's degree in Library Science. For 26 years, she served as a school librarian at South Jr. High School. She loved to tell her friends and family stories of her students and all their successes. She adored teaching and saw goodness and potential in every child she met. In her later years, she delighted greeting former students wherever she went in Newburgh.
Hope was grounded by her faith and cared deeply for her church community at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church; a member of Philoptochos and their choir director.
Hope was smart, witty - she loved a good pun - and incredibly generous; she truly placed others before herself. She made friends everywhere she went. We will miss seeing her face light up and hearing her laugh as she recounted one of her many misadventures, whether it was from a trip to Europe when she was young or the many times she went to Atlantic City. She loved gardening and always made time to root for the Yankees and the Mets.
Hope was preceded in death by her father and mother. She is survived by her brother George Stephanou and his wife Margaret, her nephew Eli Stephanou and his wife Linnea and their two children Karolina Hope and James, and her niece Maria and her husband Jonathan. Her passing is mourned by countless friends and neighbors.
Viewing services will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at Brooks Funeral Home in Newburgh, NY from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM with a Trisagion service at 6 PM. Please, masks must be worn by those in attendance. Funeral services will be attended by family and close members to the family only, at Saint Nicholas at 10:00 AM Wednesday, September 30, 2020.
Flowers or donations can be sent to Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church PO Box 2004, Newburgh NY 12550